Telecommunications systems, cable television systems and data communication networks use optical networks to rapidly convey large amounts of information between remote points. In an optical network, information is conveyed in the form of optical signals through optical fibers. Optical networks may also include various network elements, such as amplifiers, dispersion compensators, multiplexer/demultiplexer filters, wavelength selective switches, couplers, etc. configured to perform various operations within the network.
Efforts to increase efficiency of traffic in optical networks have included improvements in Routing and Wavelength Assignment (RWA) and Software Defined Networking and technologies such as higher-order modulation, Nyquist-shaping, and multi-subcarrier super-channels. However, typical fragmentation of the optical spectrum in a mesh network can result in over 50% of the total fiber spectrum being unused when a first traffic demand cannot be satisfied. This can be due to blocking somewhere in the network. Also, optical paths shorter than the maximum reach can incur less optical impairment than they are capable of managing.